Mefford's late layup lifts Team Smalley past Team Hilbert

SPARTA -- Trailing by double-digits with less than two minutes remaining, it appeared second-seeded Team Smalley was heading for a quarterfinal-round knockout in the Sparta Summer League playoffs.

But the squad comprised primarily of former Jefferson players exploded late to ensure their 8-1 regular season would not go by the wayside.

Closing out with an 11-0 unanswered run, Team Smalley eliminated seventh-seeded Team Hilbert -- a team with a quartet of ex-Wallkill Valley players and 2010 High Point graduate Femi Adebola -- by a 57-56 count on Thursday night at the DreamField Sports Complex in Sparta.

Adebola led all scorers with 26 points, including an eight three-pointers, to nearly spring the squad from the northern end of Sussex County to a massive upset.

However, former Pope John and Muhlenberg College guard Brandon Mefford's driving layup with just 20 seconds remaining proved to be the difference.

"We run a lot of one-on-one sets in our offense as is," Mefford said after the game, "and that situation was no different. We really turned our defense up in those last few minutes as well."

When Kodie Hilbert -- captain of his namesake team and 2013 graduate of Wallkill Valley -- sunk a left corner triple with 4:36 remaining, it appeared his squad's 56-46 advantage would hold.

After nearly three minutes of scoreless action, John Smalley -- former Jefferson Falcons and Rowan University forward -- got his team's rally started with a putback layup, steal on the ensuing inbound, and second lay-in to cut the deficit from 10 to six points in just five seconds.

A Team Hilbert misfire on the other end of the floor was followed with a right-wing three-ball from Jefferson grad C.J. Burdett to trim Team Smalley's deficit to 56-53. Mefford recorded a key steal on the other end, and a powerful drive by Smalley in the lane sliced its lead down to one.

A miss by Adebola allowed former Falcons star Derek Hall to get the re-bound with 40 seconds showing on the clock, setting up Mefford's grand finale.

Incidentally, Team Smalley's 11-0 run to win the game was preceded by a 13-0 Team Hilbert run to seize the lead. In Team Hilbert's big stretch of play, Adebola sunk a trio of shots from behind the arc, and teammate Tyler Nichols sunk three free throws after a technical foul was assessed to Team Smalley for arguing a foul call.

Over the game's first three quarters, Smalley's squad nearly led throughout, but was unable to extend its lead past six points, as Adebola and Hilbert's shooting kept it within striking distance. Recent Sparta graduate Nick Lucas' layup near the buzzer sent Team Smalley to a 30-24 halftime lead.

Mefford led the way for the winners with 15, while Burdett also reached double-figures for Team Smalley with 12 points. Smalley had nine, including three layups in the fourth quarter. Hilbert and Nichols followed Adebola's breakout shooting night with 10 apiece for Team Hilbert.

NOTES: The other two quarterfinal pairings in the SSBL playoffs will be contested on Monday night … The semifinals are slated for Tuesday night, with Game 1 of the championship to be held on Thursday … All playoff games are still slated to be held at Ungerman Park in downtown Sparta, weather-permitting.